What do we need? Return to UK

[AwayFromHere]

Looking for advice - it seems highly likely that we will be returning to the UK in November after ten years away.

Both children have been born in this time (5 and 4 years old by then) we are quite happy about this as we are coming to the end of our tether with employer!

But... how do we start registering/ preparing children for school / doctors / getting back on the electoral roll when we are returning in the middle of the autumn term and don't even know where we are going to live? We left the uk as a relatively care free newly married couple and are now returning as a (happy) family... does anyone have any tips on how to make things run smoothly as frankly we are a little drained at this end and feeling a little overwhelmed by it all!

Gp is easy. Just go into your local gp with proof of address, they may ask for passports. If you have NHS cards take them. Also take a copy of your children's vaccine records. They will get you to fill in a few forms and you are registered.
Electoral role . Contact the local council once you have an address. You should be able to find this online.
Schools are harder. You will have missed the normal admission round so they will be in year applicants.Thereis a class limit of 30 for under 7's.Most areas won't let you apply tilll you have an address. In many areas schools are over subscribed and full. However especially in urban areas people move. A local education authority has to find you children places. However they don't have to be your nearest school, or a good school.or together. I assume your children will be entering reception and year one. If you get a place for your year one child you could get a nursery place for your younger child whilst waiting for a reception place via the waiting list for the younger one at the same school. Being a sibling usually puts you to the top of waiting lists.
Best bet is either to move to an area without over subscribed schools or move somewhere with lots of good schools in a small area so which ever you get allocated it's good.
Are your children at school/ nursery where they are? I wouldn't,t worry to much about academics but can they sit quietly on the carpet, wipe their bums, carry a tray for school lunch dress and undress themselves for PE, hang their coat up. Recognise their names in print. Hold a pencil, write their names, Basic counting, shape recognition, colours,count money,older one, doesn't have to be uk money. Schools will be used to pupils starting with a wide range of abilities and they catch up fast

I'm in a similar position. Been abroad nearly 7 years, have had two DC in that time (nearly 5 and 2) and will be moving back to the UK by the end of this year hopefully. The amount of things we need to sort out feels SO overwhelming, but I'm trying to do it one thing at a time so it doesn't feel too much! We have the added bonus of reeeeally not wanting to move back, unfortunately we have to for family reasons.

First step is for DH to get a job, then we will find a rental, then I will sort stuff like GPs etc. Once we know where DH will be working I'm going to get in touch with the local council to get an idea of what school places are available in the area (like you we'll have missed start of Reception) then we can hopefully rent somewhere close to a school with space. Like the PP said, as far as I know we have to have a physical address before we can actually apply for a school place.

I am also in a similar position. We are moving back after 10 years away. Really looking forward to it, but very nervous about the schools. My kids are a bit older than yours, 10 and 11. Does anyone have any experience of putting kids into the UK system at this age? You are SO right, it is very overwhelming! I will follow this thread with interest x

MissSnowdrop, I had to return to the UK due to medical reasons. My DS, 7 went to school here for 6 months and DD10 for 6 weeks (complicated long story) DS LOVED it, DD who has always been internationally schooled was extremely sniffy about the whole experience and found it difficult to settle. We decided to send her back to complete the year with DH. She has been very spoiled by her education up til now, but the kids weren't at the best school so that might have made andifference,....

Meadow I could have written that! It is SO overwhelming isn't it and worse when you don't want to leave.

I did this recently. Be prepared for high car insurance etc as no recent UK record. Schools in Scotland for me were straightforward, GP was easy.

a lot can't be done until you get here, but mostly straightforward! make a list and work your way through it.

Makes it so much harder when you don't want to leave doesn't it fluffy . I keep driving round our local area thinking "but I don't wan't to go!!" and getting teary.

I've made a big spreadsheet list with everything I can think of that will need to be done, which is helping me feel a little bit more in control. Everything else is out of my hands at the moment - we're in limbo until DH can find a job, then I can start organising things.

Makes it so much harder when you don't want to leave doesn't it fluffy

I keep driving round our local area thinking "but I don't wan't to go!!" and getting teary

Yes! Me too, I keep taking photos of everything and wishing time would slow down!

Prices don't bother me loveandlight because where we are is very very expensive indeed.

We have been back to the UK at least once a year, to see family and friends. My sister cannot wait until we go back but I REALLY do not want to. We knew we would have to eventually but at the beginning, it seems like such a long time away doesn't it meadow

Thanks Amnesty. So are both your kids back at the International school now? My kids are both in local schools. At the moment they are not really up for leaving although they do love the UK.....mainly because we have a lot of family there and they love being with them. It will be strange for them to go to English speaking school!

Lion and Fluffy, I am the complete opposite to you.....I can't wait to go home. It's been good living here, but am really homesick now, even after 10 years! As i get older, i feel the need to be nearer to my family and i think t's quite important for my kids too. We are quite isolated, where we are.

Source of light - i have been looking at things like car insurance, but you are quite right, there is not much you can do until you are actually there. That's really frustrating when trying to work out future finances. When you say high car insurance.....how high exactly?

Has anyone managed to get a mortgage after being away so long?

One or two random thoughts from an ex expat

• electoral roll , make very sure you opt out of the edited register. That is the public one sold to every man and his dog, and will spatter your details all over the internet and spam you senseless.
• broadband/ phone - going rate now about £25 for line, unlimited broadband, unlimited calls. Less if you dont want the calls but be aware of mobile price and reliability issues. Loyalty costs ( most UK things are set up that way) so shop around at each renewal.
• car insurance will be high and insurance tax has quadrupled in three years and is heading for 20%.
• power prices up 30% in the last year.

Its not brexit, none of these things relate to that.

Interest rates have been very low for years, I doubt this will change until Carney moves on.

We repatriated a couple of years ago. On a practical note, anything involving credit checks was a complete pain in the ass. Even stuff you wouldn't expect like just buying a SIM only mobile contract or paying for house insurance monthly rather than annually. We heard a lot of "computer says no" as we didn't tick the right boxes.

Car insurance was a big hurdle. We found Aviva the best by far as not only are they one of only a handful who will touch you without a UK address history in the past few years, they also accept no-claims evidence from your overseas insurer. (Direct line I think would accept us but not our no claims) And if you want to buy a car you need to buy outright, as again no one want to give you finance. We managed, but this was a shock to us as we've always had excellent credit ratings and had maintained UK bank accounts and credit cards. But without a UK address history for 5 years it was problematic.

For the kids, make sure you get the GP surgery to record their vaccination record properly and even then you will probably get lots of random NHS mail shots for stuff they've already had, and be prepared for people to recoil in horror when you cannot produce the all important red book . Schools may need translations of their birth certificates if not in English, unless you registered them in the UK too and got that certificate which looks just like a UK birth cert. (We did with one DD but not the other as our local consulate had stopped doing it).

I can't advise on schools as we made it back in time for the normal application cycle. Definitely worth choosing a home in an area with less demand for places if that's possible. Electoral roll was one thing that was very easy.

Good luck. We are making plans to leave again next year.

Wow... thanks all, I wasn't really expecting this level of interest! Some of this is reassuring, some not so.

Thanks anyway, we'll digest this lot and get back to you all. Good to have a bit of back up!

If you are moving back from outside the EU there are special forms you need to fill in from HMRC (I think) to get your stuff through customs. My db is returning from the ME, and even as a member of HM Forces, so HMG did his move etc, he has to fill this in.